It's odd to note the lack of gay marriage progress in Asia. I would have expected some recognition in Japan, for example. I may have left out civil unions or domestic partnerships in some European countries such as Austria or Ireland. And I've left all the smaller duchies and principalities at the end, since I didn't know their status at all. But it's sad to see the United Status standing alone for not having a country-wide gay marriage law. There is action in Italy and Australia and others, so we'll see if 2007 leaves us completely alone on this list.

Oh Dear!

In Japan, it is OK to have sex toy vending machines on the street where anyone can access them. You can market magazines to teenage girls that have girls holding up vibrators, or cartoons of a girl being fucked by a dog while her boyfriend spoofs on her. You can also be openly racist, and have places which say "No gaijin!" Translation = No foreigners.

It is not, however, "OK to be gay" in Japan. Sure, places exist for gays. I went to a postage stamped size bar in Nagoya where a handful of people gathered. Gay-ish magazines were there, but pictures of naked men with their genitals either pixelated out or blocked out were there to peruse.

I hold on to a slim branch of hope that Australia may legalize/permit a legal union of types. There is enough recognition for a de facto relationship, gay or straight, to have some legal recognition when it comes to seperations, but we've a long way to go. Our Prime Minister is actively doing everything that he can to make it a non-recognized union/marriage as much as he can.

Re: Oh Dear!

I went to Tokyo and Kyoto last summer. You're right, there is an odd gay community in Tokyo. In a city of almost 13 million people, there is just one street full of gay bars (Shinjuku's ni-chome). Where are all the gay people? I liked those postage-size bars though... they seat about 12 people at the most, so if you go drinking there, it's like sitting with your friends in a living room. YOu can choose special bars for fisting, bears, leather, cowboys. Pick you kink, or bar-hop and try different things!

To me, Japan still has a back-to-the-50s feeling for social mores. Men are supposed to marry and have children, even if they're gay. I found that Japanese people kind of liked gay people (on TV, movies, etc.) as long as it wasn't *their* children who were gay. I'm still surprised, however, that Japan won't honor gaijin weddings likje Israel.

All the pornography, gay or straight, is pixelated or outlined. It's not just a gay thing. So, you agree with coachbear that livejournal is wrong about Australia? (see previous post)

Re: Oh Dear!

I admit that I never went to Tokyo, so maybe it's the difference between New York City and Lost Springs, Wyoming (population 3.. don't you just love Google?).

About the state of "gay marriage" in Australia. I have the freedom to have a civil union with my partner, but it is not recognized by the State or Federal government. Legally, I can have a psuedo-divorce, where I can try to claim half of his property (or the other way around).

However, if I died, our superannuation is not guaranteed to go where we specify in our wills. It is up to the company's discretion, and they can (and do) often go for family members over domestic partnerships.

Personally, I don't want to get married. But that could change if I was to consider all of the financial aspects. I'm not religious, so I don't need to have church approval, and I don't need a piece of government sactioned paper to tell me (and the world) that I love my man. Plus, I look terrible in white lace.

I do WANT the legal recognition, but mainly for the other people that it is important to. There's no question that we are being discriminated against, and the denial of these rights has impact on people's family options, tax benefits, medical care.. the list goes on.

John Howard has been actively trying to get the legal definition marriage to specifically mention man and woman, excluding all others.

Saying all of that, I think that the majority of Australian people honestly don't give a toss if you are gay/straight or bi (and all of the other permutations), and would agree to legalize our marriages. So in that way, I think that they are much more open when compared to America.

Our vilification laws are such that it is techincally illegal to call people Faggots, Niggers, Gooks, etc.... and I think the usage of those terms are not as frequent as USA, but there are ignorant troglodytes in any country.

The Religious Right don't have quite the same impact over here as USA, either, however the Family First party is making too many inroads in this country for me to be comfortable.

I think that it's impportnat for everyone to remember that the gays in pre-WW2 had widespread acceptance in Germany, and we all know how that turned out. Yeesh!

As for Israel: it's not QUITE full gay marriage. It's true gay marriages are recognized and given the same rights as straight marriages. However, two same-sex couples can not MARRY in Israel (the rabbinate will NOT allow that), but if a couple got married in, say, Spain or Canada and then came back to Israel, that marriage would be recognized fully.

That list was just the top "industrialized nations"... so I also had to leave off Uruguay. My point is that the US is trailing badly behind the other economic powerhouses that supposedly fuel the world economy.

But P.S. you seem to know a lot about it... are you Slovenian at all? You looked like you might be, or maybe it's just the mustache! {grin}